232 THE HUMBLE-BEE x 
A FOSTER-MOTHER. 
Searching queens caught and put into com- 
mencing nests of their own species behaved very 
variably. A dapidarius or terrestris queen caught 
early in the season generally took little or no 
notice of the brood, even if the nest contained 
workers and was queenless, but moped in the 
corner, or if she was permitted to fly she disappeared. 
But queens caught late in the season sometimes 
took to the brood at once. 
On June 27, 1910, I caught a searching dapzdarius 
queen and put her in a box with a cluster of cocoons 
containing pupe from one of my J/apzdarius nests 
that had been deserted ; but she tore them open and 
would not sit on them. 
On July 1, 1910, I captured a searching dagzdarius 
queen in the apiary and gave her a few cocoons 
containing larva. She immediately adopted them 
and showed great attachment to them, sitting on 
them almost continuously. 
On the same day, a /apzdarius queen occupying 
one of my domiciles was found in a dazed condition 
on top of her nest, which had been pulled to pieces 
and reconstructed by some small mammal, although, 
and this was strange, her brood which had reached 
the cocoon stage had not been injured. I brought 
the poor queen indoors with her brood, but although 
she drank some honey I offered her, she appeared 
to be ill, for she paid no attention to her brood but 
